Mar 26 2009
Sweet 16
Although these don’t necessarily reflect my pre-tourney bracket, these picks are my gut feeling based on the way the teams are playing.
Midwest
- #1 Louisville vs. #12 Arizona – Louisville…no question. Just a better team.
- #3 Kansas vs. #2 Michigan State – MSU, I just think the Spartans and Izzo need this more.
- Louisville over MSU – I’m not sure they really are the best team in the country, but they play like it.
West
- #1 UConn vs. #5 Purdue – UConn will deal with the off the court problems, but focusing on playing.
- #2 Memphis vs. #3 Missouri – Memphis, although if they struggle early, Mizzou won’t let them off the hook.
- UConn over Memphis – Both teams appear on a mission, but give me the old grizzly coach in perhaps his last big tournament (I wouldn’t be surprised to see Calhoun retire).
East
- #1 Pittsburgh vs. #4 Xavier – Pitt is a yearly disappointment, but they are going to pull this one out.
- #2 Duke vs. #3 Villanova – I hate this game. These teams mirror each other too much. But give me the Philly boys.
- Pittsburgh over Villanova – I love a guy like Fields in a tournament. He’ll make some big plays for them late.
South
- #1 UNC vs. #4 Gonzaga – UNC, hands down. Just too good for Gonzaga, they’ll pull away late.
- #2 Oklahoma vs #3 Syracuse – My heart says Syracuse, but my head says Oklahoma. My guess is despite backcourt heroics, Blake Griffin will be too much inside for Syracuse.
- Oklahoma over UNC – Often in the NCAA singular stars don’t carry teams deep. But Griffin does seem special, and they play as a team together.
So I’m thinking Louisville, UConn, Pittsburgh and Oklahoma will be the Final Four. If the Big East doesn’t have at least two make it through this weekend, it is a disasppointment.
